If more of us took a stand maybe we could have some decent TV programs.

Jim Neugent is a coach in Childress, Texas.

Jim writes:

My name is Jim Neugent. I wrote to ABC (on-line) concerning a program called "THE PRACTICE."

In last nights episode, one of the lawyer's mothers decided she is gay and wanted her son to go to court and help her get a marriage license so she could marry her 'partner.' ! I sent the following letter to ABC yesterday and really did not expect a reply, but I did get one.

My original message was:

ABC is obsessed (or should I say abscessed) with the subject of homosexuality. I will no longer watch any of your attempts to convince the world that homosexuality is OK. THE PRACTICE can be a fairly good show, but last night's program was so typical of your agenda. You picked the dufus' of the office to be the one who was against the idea of his mother being gay and made him look like a whiner because he had convictions. This type of mentality calls people like me a "gay basher."

Read the first chapter of Romans (that's in the Bible) and see what the apostle Paul had to say about it.... He, God and Jesus were all 'gay bashers'. What if she'd fallen in love with her cocker spaniel? Is that an alternative lifestyle? (By the way, the Bible speaks against that, too.)

--Jim Neugent

Here is ABC's reply from the ABC on-line webmaster:

How about getting your nose out of the Bible (which is ONLY a book of stories compiled by MANY different writers hundreds of years ago) and read the declaration of independence (what our nation is built on) where it says "All Men are Created equal"- and try treating them that way for a change!

Or better yet, try thinking for yourself and stop using an archaic book of stories as your lame crutch for your existence. You are in minority in this country and your boycott will not affect us or our freedom of statement.

Jim Neugent's second response to ABC:

Thanks for your reply. From your harsh reply, evidently I hit a nerve. I will share it with all with whom I come in contact. Hopefully, the Arkansas Democrat Newspaper will include it in one of their columns and I will be praying for you.

- -Jim Neugent

-- Thanks, Jim Neugent

I wonder if the person from ABC considered how many people would read this e-mail! This is one we should definitely pass on.

ps...I am taking this person at his word on the validity of the above. C.L.SteplockIII

Claim: A viewer received an insulting response after sending a complaint to ABC's web site about the TV program 'The Practice.' Status: True. Origins: Why this one has reared its ugly head again, a full year after the fact, is beyond our ken. Yes, it's essentially true, but it all took place back in April of 1999, when an Arkansas viewer by the name of Jim Neugent decided to lodge a complaint through an e-mail link on ABC's web site. Mr. Neugent was disgruntled with the 4 April 1999 episode of the ABC TV program 'The Practice' -- which featured a story line involving a lesbian couple who wished to get married -- and wrote to tell them so:

I thought this was one of those phony-pass this on to all your friends" things as well.

I went to snopes.com (the best urban legend resource site) and found it was true.

ABC's response:

Dear Mr. Neugent: We apologize for the e-mail message that was sent to you with comments that reflect neither the view of ABC nor of its executives. Viewer mail is traditionally handled by our Audience Information department for response. Your message was inappropriately handled by a programmer from ABC.com. I want to assure you that the response that you received does not in any way reflect the views of ABC Television, and most importantly is not at all consistent with the manner in which KATV, our valued partner in Little Rock, would ever treat their audience/community members.

Unfortunately, as in any organization, there are bound to be a few individuals that step out of line. To that end, we completed a comprehensive investigation into the matter earlier this afternoon. While the individual was deeply contrite and wanted to apologize to you, we felt that his actions were reprehensible and terminated him immediately.

Specifically in response to your original concerns regarding the subject of homosexuality in our programming, the ABC programming department has tried to treat such subjects in a sensitive manner. We recognize that we are serving a large, diverse audience with a wide range of attitudes towards all types of entertainment programming. We believe that programs thoughtfully reflecting social issues existing in our present society constitute proper television faire. We appreciate your original comments and take serious note of your thoughts on the potential direction of future story lines.

We are glad that you brought the e-mail incident to our attention. We truly regret that this happened, and we hope you understand by our actions that we will not tolerate this kind of behavior from any member of our staff.

Finally, I would like to once again add that the response that you received should in no way be attributed to our partner in Little Rock, KATV. As you well know, KATV has been the news and public affairs leader in Little Rock for years, and will be for many more. A finer, more committed television station does not exist. I would not want their reputation to suffer in any way due to our mishap.

Please accept our apologies and regrets.

Sincerely,

Daren Benzi ABC Television Network

9
posted on 01/29/2003 9:35:13 AM PST
by icwhatudo
(BTW, how many people saw that name and for a second thought Donna brazile? LOL)

Got that. What is omitted is what's pointed out in the last graph of the snopes.com story: "ABC promptly investigated and determined what had occurred, and they then reacted responsibly by terminating the employee responsible and sending an official apology to Mr. Neugent. The only person really at fault here is the anonymous employee who took it upon himself to express his personal opinions as if he were a representative of ABC."

In other words, this isn't something that's brand new, so probably not fodder for a Fox Alert.

You sound surprised. ABC is by far the most decadent of the major networks, (how about that disgusting display of decadent commercials during the Super Bowl).ABC slips further and further down in the ratings, and they think they need to get more, um, "diverse" to improve.What idiots. America does not want that junk, so we watch Jeapordy, then tune in to ANYTHING else.

Found this at urban legends web site and only post it because of the last paragraph which caught my eye. Small world?

Synopsis Jim Neugent complained to ABC about the pro-gay themes of its television series 'The Practice' and received a rude antireligious rant in reply.

Is it true? Yes, but it's not quite the whole story.

Why? Yes, there really is a Jim Neugent. And, yes, he really did send the email complaint to ABC and received the rude reply from an ABC employee. But the story didn't end there.

What the email does not mention is that the ABC employee who originally replied was not authorized to do so and was fired as a result of the rant. The email doesn't mention that Mr. Neugent received two polite apologies from ABC for the incident.

When? 1999

Comments Whether or not one enjoys ABC's programming, it's hard to see how the response of an unauthorized ABC employee with no responsibility for programming content is proof of a particular agenda at ABC, particularly when ABC acted quickly to apologize and discipline the employee.

One brief note: some versions of the email describe Mr. Neugent as living in Childress, Texas. Mr. Neugent was living in Mena, Arkansas when he corresponded with ABC.

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